40 Delicious Easter Recipes

When shopping, look for a ham with the lowest possible percentage of water. Choose an unglazed ham, and if your ham comes with a glaze packet, discard it. While you can choose either the butt half or the shank half, the butt half will give more succulent texture and a more distinct flavor.

Malted milk powder and chopped malted Easter egg candies give this festive sweet-and-salty springtime snack mix a double hit of malt-shop flavor.

Prebaked phyllo shells (available at large supermarkets) make this party-perfect recipe an absolute snap to make-start to finish, you'll be done in 35 minutes.

Soaking the currants in balsamic vinegar gives them a slightly tangy flavor that contrasts well with the rich dough of this classic Easter bread.

This lightly sweet potato salad is a great way to use up leftover Easter ham.

Brushed with mustard and coated with garlicky breadcrumbs, these petite chops are a quick alternative to a classic leg of lamb. The recipe comes from Andy Schudlich of Epicure Catering and Cherry Basket Farm in Michigan.

Whole-roasted carrots are an effortlessly glam side, perfect with ham. But the real genius here is the matchstick-sliced ginger that bakes with them. Candied in the glaze, it's a chewy, intensely gingery topping you'll be pinching right off the pan.

What's Maltaise Sauce, you ask? It's just hollandaise sauce with a bit of orange zest and juice added. But you wouldn't believe how that bit of zing transforms this brunch standard.

Egg bread, extra egg yolks and half-and-half take a trusty diner classic to new levels of splurge. (Trust us, you won't regret going along for the ride.) Both the French toast and berries need to rest overnight, so this is an ideal make-ahead brunch dish. The recipe comes from The Birchwood Cafe Cookbook (University of Minnesota Press, $29.95).

Asparagus, bacon and roasted red sweet peppers update a classic breakfast casserole mix of eggs, bread and cheese.

Inexpensive chai tea bags infuse Chai-Spiced Compote with the tongue-tingling flavors of ginger, cloves and cardamom. Because the recipe calls for frozen peaches and cherries, you can make this colorful fruit dessert year-round. If you're watching fat or calories, leave off the pecans and coconut and just enjoy the flavorful fruit.

This flavor-packed dish combines garlic-infused chicken with perfectly cooked vegetables. Roasting the lemon in the pan brings out its flavor.

Talk about easy! You can prep these delicious little quiches the night before, or make them in the morning while the oven preheats. They're perfect for brunch parties, and you can use whatever meat, cheese and veggies you have on hand.

Feta cheese adds salty punch to a colorful salad from Chef Michael Symon. He recommends serving the salad with lamb chops, but it would work great with any grilled meat.

Create these easy, gooey-good rolls by combining frozen bread dough and pudding mix. They'll taste like you spent all morning baking!

A hint of curry and some chutney elevate these deviled eggs to spectacular. Spoon the filling into a sandwich-size clear plastic bag and snip a corner for easy piping.

Rise and shine with these special-occasion pancakes from chef Mindy Segal of Mindy's HotChocolate Restaurant and Dessert Bar in Chicago. Ricotta makes them moist and rich; lemon curd gives sweet-tart punch.

Veggies and low-fat cottage cheese stretch the eggs in this frittata, a breakfast main dish that's both healthy and low-cost (about $1.75 a serving!). A little salmon or ham boosts the flavor.

A sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar gives a sweet crust to these berry-packed muffins.

An easy-to-use frozen spinach souffle makes this quiche's eggy-sausage filling easy to prepare. The recipe is from the Goldmoor Inn near Galena, Illinois.

Thickened with a little potato and flavored with leeks, shallot, white wine and the faintly anise-y herb tarragon, this sleeper hit of a soup is subtle, springy and unexpectedly special.

This recipe couldn't be simpler! Just simmer grapefruit slices in maple syrup for a delicious, rosy compote to serve over waffles, French toast, crepes-or these subtly orange-flavored pancakes.

Dessert or coffee cake? It's up to you. A hint of orange rounds out the flavors.

Loaded with protein and fresh greens, this is a simple yet flavorful potato salad. Paired with a fruit salad, it's almost hearty enough to eat as a meal.

These breakfast rolls are a family tradition with Jean Haviland of Carroll, Iowa. "My mom made these rolls with a maple-cream filling-and still does!" she says. "Mom always makes extra and freezes them for later. They're great for breakfast or any time of day!"

Geri Boesen credits her mother-in-law, Patsy, for creating this easy sausage-and-cheese brunch recipe, a popular food at family holiday gatherings. "It's nice because you can make it the day ahead and put it in the fridge overnight," Geri says.

David Dahlman of Chatsworth, California, says this yeasty coffee cake reminds him of the old-fashioned, down-to-earth treats on his grandmother's farm table. It takes time because it's a yeast-leavened dough, but there's no kneading required.

Lyndy Ireland cooks breakfast favorites for her guests at Triangle Ranch in western South Dakota. She tops this Sausage Pie with refreshing salsa.

This recipe starts with square bacon-flecked cornmeal biscuits you can make ahead. On Easter morning, scramble the egg-veggie mixture, fill the biscuits, and bake to heat and melt the cheese.

Hash brown potatoes form the crust for this quiche recipe. To save time, start with frozen hash browns. 

You can assemble the cheesy Herbed Egg-Potato Bake up to two days ahead and refrigerate it.

Kids will love helping make this Easter breakfast or brunch treat, but don't save it just for them—adults like chocolate chip pancakes, too! The raspberry sauce can be made ahead of time.

This hearty quiche recipe comes from Fire Lake Camp farm in Paola, Kansas, where a U-pick asparagus patch draws visitors every spring.

Cream cheese is the secret ingredient in this casserole, which gets a generous topping of blueberry or maple syrup. You can assemble the casserole the night before your Easter brunch.

Bake a hearty breakfast or brunch casserole with cubed ham, fresh or frozen asparagus, rice and Swiss cheese. A sprinkle of panko mixed with melted butter gives the dish a crispy topping.

Turn small baked potatoes into Easter egg shapes by mashing the pulp with sour cream and seasonings, and then standing the potatoes on end. It's an easy side you can prepare the day before Easter.

This creamy, crazy-delicious lasagna is simple, too, thanks to jarred Alfredo sauce and no-boil noodles. If you're lucky enough to have a specialty grocery store or Italian deli that sells all-natural refrigerated Alfredo sauce without preservatives, this is a great way to use it.

Bread crumbs combine with tender, sweet onion to top this casserole, while low-sodium soup mixes with yogurt for the green bean sauce.

Make this egg dish in just 20 minutes. Packaged hash browns form the nest, and the filling is a simple scramble of eggs and chives topped with cheese.